Swordmaster
The Swordmaster (ソードマスター Sōdomasutā) is a combat physical class that recurrently appears across the Fire Emblem Series, beginning from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. The promoted form of the Myrmidon class, Swordmasters, like their name suggests, are unparalleled masters of the Sword. History in the Series In its original inception in Genealogy of the Holy War, the Swordmaster acts as one of two classes that the then newly-introduced Sword Fighter class can promote into, the other being the Hero class. Arming Swords as its sole weapon of choice, the Swordmaster class can only be accessed by Ayra, her daughter Larcei, and Shanan in these titles. Unlike later appearances, this incarnation of the Swordmaster has very high strength, despite possessing high skill, Swordmasters are not able to perform critical hits without the critical skill or other unique factors. In Thracia 776, the Swordmaster returns again as a promotion of Swordfighter class. While no longer possessing high strength, Swordmasters are now able to critical due to the game returning to the engine in prior games. Swordmasters possess the continue skill. Swordmasters appear again in TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga. Like before, it promotes from the sword fighter class. The class's bases and stat cap focus on speed and skill at the expense of defense and power. Beginning from The Binding Blade, the Swordmaster class is cleanly separated from the Hero class, instituted as the staple promoted form of the Sword Fighter/Myrmidon class. The Blade Lord Lyndis from The Blazing Blade and the Great Lord Eirika from The Sacred Stones are widely considered to be variations of the Swordmaster class, given the fact that they share similar stat caps, growths, and can use the Wo Dao/Shamshir. In Radiant Dawn, the Swordmaster (剣豪ソードマスター Sōdomasutā lit. read as Kengō) class is further able to promote into the Trueblade class when the necessary requirements are fulfilled. In Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, the Swordmaster class is one of the promotion classes for Navarre. In Fates, the Swordmaster class is known as the Sword Saint (剣聖, Kensei) in the Japanese version and is treated as a Hoshidan class. The class is again one of the promoted forms of the Myrmidon/Samurai class. In Fire Emblem Warriors, Swordmaster is the promoted class of Owain and the base class of Ryoma, which makes it unique among the classes of that game. In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Swordmaster Class is an optional promoted class of the Commoner or Noble class if the unit passes the Certification Exam at Lv. 20 with a Sword Skill Level of A or higher and an Advanced Seal. The other option with these requirements is the male only Hero class if the unit in question has an Axe Skill Level of C as well. Overview Combat While the Defense of Swordmasters has risen since their promotion from Myrmidon, it is still considered to be comparatively lower than a number of other classes. While this remains a glaring weakness that the class carries over from its previous form, so too do its strengths. More prominent amongst these are its high Skill and Speed and generally average Strength, making for the delivery of attacks that are strong, swift and accurate. The high Speed of Swordmasters also renders them experts of evasion, allowing them to engage in very effective combat when facing against tougher bosses. The two skills Swordmasters can learn in Awakening and Fates are Astra and Swordfaire. When Astra is activated (the trigger percentage equals Skill divided by 2), the user unleashes five consecutive strikes at half damage, dealing a maximum of 2.5 times the normal damage. However, units with Astra should be especially careful around Counter units if they are engaging in melee combat, because the individual half-damage strikes from the skill's activation are less likely to secure kills on their own, and thus, are more likely to incur damaging - and possibly, even fatal - backlash. Swordfaire boosts the user's Strength by 5 if they are wielding a sword (Magic is upped by 5 if the user has a Levin Sword). Swordmasters tend to have average or below average Strength and poor Magic growths, so this skill is good for rectifying that problem. Attacking these units outside their range with other high-accuracy classes with Magic or Bows is recommended, but only if the ranged unit in question is also blocked by a stronger class to prevent the Swordmaster's advance. Exploiting their flaws is therefore effectively easier when attacking behind walls, as their Resistance is generally quite low. However, the new Weapon Triangle in Fates puts bows at a disadvantage against swords, so attempting to hit them with arrows can now prove unwise, even for Snipers. Additionally, if Swordmasters carry Wakizashi, they can counterattack bow units (and rather accurately at that). Swordmasters gain a critical boost upon promotion that varies depending on the game played (e.g. 30% in The Binding Blade and 15% in The Blazing Blade, Sacred Stones, the US version of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, where Trueblades, promoted Swordmasters, have a 20% boost, and Fates where Swordmasters gain a 10% critical boost along with a 10% avoid boost). In Awakening, Swordmasters do not receive a critical boost, but with the Swordfaire skill, the damage increase will usually make up for it. During the Swordmaster class's debut in Genealogy of the Holy War, it holds the position of possessing the highest Strength (tied with the traditional high strength classes such as Wyvern Lords), Skill and Speed caps, alongside a fairly decent Defense cap. The Swordmasters in this title also boast excellent growths in these areas as well, further enhancing their formidability as compared to other classes. With the onset of Thracia 776 and beyond, the strength of the Swordmaster class is considerably lowered for strength-balancing purposes. In WiFi battles, Swordmasters are often used for their simplicity. Their high Speed and lack of obvious weaknesses make them decent units to deploy in the frontlines. Their main flaws take the form of their low Movement, lack of ranged weapons and Weapon Triangle rigidity. Swordmasters are among the easiest units to obtain, although some care needs to be taken with their generally low Defense. In-Game :★ - FE10 SP Class. Base Stats A |fe5= / * / *1*8* / *0*4*-*7* / *-* C |ts=22*6*0*10*10*0*3*-*6*-*-* 5 |fe6= / *6*-*11* / *0* / * / *6* / *-* C |fe7 / *6*-*11* / *0* / * / *6* / *-* C |fe8= / *6*-*11* / *0* / * / *6* / *-* C |fe9= / * / *2*7* / *0*5* / *7* / * / * C |fe10-1=* / * / * / *20* / *0* / * / *7* / * / * C |fe10-2=★*35*17*8*22*23*0*15*12*7*11*11* A |fe11=22*5*1*11*13*0*6*3*8*-*-* C |fe12=22*5*1*11*13*0*6*3*8*-*-* C |fe13=20*7*2*11*13*0*6*4*6*-*-* E |fe14=18*6*2*7*11*4*5*5*6*-*-* E |fe16=30*17*8*12*14*10*12*8*5*-*-* }} Maximum Stats A |fe5=80*20*20*20*20*20*20*-*20*20*-* A |ts=60*21*15*25*25*30*18*-*12*-*-* 20 |fe6=60* / *-*29*30*30*22* / *15*20*-* S |fe7=60* / *-*29*30*30*22* / *15*25*-* S |fe8=60* / *-*29*30*30*22* / *15*25*-* S |fe9=60* / *20*29*30*40* / * / *7* / * / * S |fe10-1=*40* / *15*30*30*30* / * / *7* / * / * / |fe10-2=★*53*30*18*38*38*30*24*22*7*11*11* S |fe11=60*24*20*29*30*30*22*23*7*-*-* A |fe12=60*24*20*29*30*30*22*23*7*-*-* A |fe13=80*38*34*44*46*45*33*38*6*-*-* A |fe14=55*30*28*32*35*33*27*31*6*-*-* S |few-1=(Owain)*966*130*130*152*148*99*89*81*5*-*-* S }} Growth Rates / %*-*30%*30%*25%*15%*12%*-*-*-*- |fe7=65%*25%*-*30%*30%*25%*15%*22%*-*-*-*- |fe8=65%*25%*-*30%*30%*25%*15%*22%*-*-*-*- |fe9=65%*45%*10%*65%*65%*30%* / %* / %*-*-*-*- |fe10-1=* / %* / %* / %* / %* / %* / %* / %* / %*-*-*-*- |fe10-2=★*95%*70%*55%*85%*80%*75%*50%*55%*-*-*-*- |fe11=50%*10%*-10%*20%*25%*0%*5%*-5%*-*-*-*- |fe12=50%*10%*-10%*20%*25%*0%*5%*-5%*-*-*-*- |fe13= / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *-*-*-*- |fe14=10%*10%*5%*15%*20%*15%*0%*10%*-*-*-*- |fe16=25%*10%*0%*0%*20%*0%*0%*-5%*-*-*-* +3 }} Class Skills Promotions Notable Swordmasters ''Genealogy of the Holy War *Shannan - The crown prince of Isaach, the son of Mariccle and the nephew of Ayra. He is also the cousin of Ulster and Larcei. *Lamia - A cruel swordwoman hired by Duke Daccar. *Boyce - A mercenary hired to defend Edda by the Grannevale empire. *Simia - One of the Twelve Deadlords. *Promotion for: Ayra and Larcei. Thracia 776 *Eyvel - The leader of the Fiana Freeblades who is actually an amnesiac Brigid. *Shannam - A mercenary from Silesse who impersonates Shannan. *Promotion for: Mareeta, Shiva and Troude. TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga *Yoda - The Dark Swordmaster of Zoa and one of the Twelve Heroes. *Temzin - The king of Arial and father of Katrina. *Katrina - The daughter of Temzin and wife of Samson. *Promotion for: Julia, Vega, Shigen, and Krisheena. The Binding Blade *Gel - Brunnya's lieutenant, he defends the Sacaen city of Bulgar under her orders. *Karel - The former "Sword Demon", he is known as the "Sword Saint" in this title. Brother-in-law of Bartre and the uncle of Fir. *Promotion for: Rutger and Fir. The Blazing Blade *Karel - A man known as the "Sword Demon", Karla's older brother. *Karla - Karel's younger sister. *Lloyd Reed - The "White Wolf" of the Black Fang, one of the Four Fangs, and the older son of Brendan Reed. *Promotion for: Guy. The Sacred Stones *Ismaire (''Creature Campaign only) - The queen of Jehanna and Joshua's mother. *Carlyle - the former leader of Jehanna's army who betrays Jehanna and sides with Grado. *Promotion for: Joshua and Marisa. ''Path of Radiance *Stefan - A Branded who resides in the Grann Desert. *Lucia - Older sister of Geoffrey and Elincia's milk sibling. *Homasa - A Swordmaster who is one of Petrine's subordinates. *Promotion for: Mia and Zihark. Radiant Dawn *Zihark - A citizen of Daein who fights against the Begnion Occupational Army, *Lucia - Older sister of Geoffrey and Queen Elincia's advisor. *Mia - Member of the Greil Mercenaries, *Tashoria - A mercenary employed by Ludveck to lure the Crimean Liberation Army away from Melior. *Promotion for: Edward. Shadow Dragon *Promotion for: Navarre, Radd and Athena. New Mystery of the Emblem *Promotion for: Navarre, Radd, Athena, Malice and Samuel. Awakening *Say'ri - Former princess of Chon'sin and Yen'fay's younger sister. *Yen'fay - Former king of Chon'sin and Say'ri's older brother. *Seliph (DLC) *Lyn (DLC) *Deen (SpotPass) *Simia - One of the twelve Deadlords. *Promotion for: Lon'qu and Owain. Fates * Sumeragi - The former king of Hoshido and the father of Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura. * Ryoma - The military leader and oldest royal child of Hoshido. * Promotion for Hana, Hinata and Hisame. Three Houses *Catherine - Teacher of the Officers Academy and skilled Knight of Seiros. *Felix (Post-Timeskip) - The sharp-tongued heir of house Fraldarius who challenges any person he deems strong to a duel. Trivia *In ''Fates, if Swordmaster are given a certain weapon, they will be observed to wield two katanas instead of one when battling. This makes them the only class capable of dual-wielding weapons. It will also give them a different death animation, similar to giving a Merchant a Naginata. **The full list of dual wieldable katanas include: ***Venge Katana ***Axe Splitter ***Spirit Katana ***Hagakure Blade ***Daikon Radish ***Sunrise Katana ***Hana's Katana ***Hinata's Katana Gallery File:sol f.gif|Concept artwork of the Swordmaster class from Genealogy of the Holy War. File:Swordmaster concept PoR.png|Concept artwork of the Swordmaster class from Path of Radiance. File:Swordmaster concept RD.png|Concept artwork of the Swordmaster class from Radiant Dawn. File:Swordmaster Male.jpg|Concept artwork of the male variant of the Swordmaster class from Awakening. File:Swordmaster female.jpg|Concept artwork of the female variant of the Swordmaster class from Awakening. SwordmasterMale.jpg|Concept art of a male Swordmaster from Fates SwordmasterFem.jpg|Concept art of a female Swordmaster from Fates File:SwordmasterTCG.jpg|A Level 1 generic Swordmaster, as he appears in the second series of the TCG. File:Swmstr p.PNG|Generic class portrait of the Swordmaster class from the DS titles. File:AwakeningSwordmasterPortrait.png|Generic class portrait of a male Swordmaster from Awakening. File:AwakeningSwordmasterFemalePortrait.png|Generic class portrait of a female Swordmaster from Awakening. File:Evyel FE5 Swordmaster.png|Battle model of Eyvel, a Swordmaster from Thracia 776. File:shigen swordmaster.png|Battle model of Shigen, a male Swordmaster from TearRing Saga. File:Julia battle (Swordmaster).png|Battle model of Julia, a female Swordmaster from TearRing Saga. File:Karel swordmaster critical animation.gif|Critical animation of Karel, a male Swordmaster from The Blazing Blade. File:Fir swordmaster sword.gif|Attack animation of Fir, a female Swordmaster from The Binding Blade. File:FE9 Swordmaster (Stefan).png|Battle model of Stefan, a male Swordmaster from Path of Radiance. File:FE9 Swordmaster (Lucia).png|Battle model of Lucia, a female Swordmaster from Path of Radiance. File:FE10 Swordmaster (Zihark).png|Battle model of Zihark, a male Swordmaster from Radiant Dawn. File:FE10 Swordmaster (Mia).png|Battle model of Mia, a female Swordmaster from Radiant Dawn. File:Swordmastersd.png|Battle model of the Swordmaster class from Shadow Dragon. File:FE13 Swordmaster (Say'ri).png|Battle model of Say'ri, a female Swordmaster from Awakening. File:FE13 DLC Swordmaster (Say'ri).png|Say'ri garbed in a yukata (as a Swordmaster) in the Hot-Spring Scramble DLC. File:FE13 Swordmaster (Yen'fay).png|Battle model of Yen'fay, a male Swordmaster from Awakening. File:FE13 DLC Swordmaster (Yen'fay).png|Yen'fay garbed in a yukata (as a Swordmaster) in the Hot-Spring Scramble DLC. File:Enemy Trueblade.png|Generic class portrait of a Swordmaster from Fates. File:FE14 Swordmaster (Ryoma).jpg|Ryoma's unique Swordmaster model from Fates. File:FE14 Swordmaster (Takumi).jpg|Takumi's unique Swordmaster model from Fates. Swordmaster M.PNG|Battle model of a male Swordmaster from Fire Emblem Three Houses Swordmaster F.PNG|Battle model of a female Swordmaster from Fire Emblem Three Houses File:FE4 Swordmaster Sprite (M).gif|Map sprite of the male Swordmaster class from Genealogy of the Holy War. File:FE4 Swordmaster Sprite (F).gif|Map sprite of the female Swordmaster class from Genealogy of the Holy War. File:FE5 swordmaster.gif|Map sprite of the male Swordmaster class from Thracia 776. File:FE5 Swordmaster Sprite (F).png|Map sprite of the female Swordmaster class from Thracia 776. File:Swordmaster.gif|Map sprite of the male Swordmaster class from TearRing Saga. File:Swordmaster TS (F).png|Map sprite of the female Swordmaster class from TearRing Saga. File:FE8 Male Swordmaster Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the male Swordmaster class from the GBA titles. File:FE8 Female Swordmaster Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the female Swordmaster class from the GBA titles. File:FE9 Zihark Swordmaster Sprite.png|Map model of the male Swordmaster class from Path of Radiance. File:FE9 Mia Swordmaster Sprite.png|Map model of the female Swordmaster class from Path of Radiance. File:FE10 Edward Swordmaster Sprite.png|Map model of the male Swordmaster class from Radiant Dawn. File:FE10 Mia Swordmaster Sprite.png|Map model of the female Swordmaster class from Radiant Dawn. File:FE11 Swordmaster (M) Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the male Swordmaster class from Shadow Dragon. File:FE11 Swordmaster (F) Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the female Swordmaster class from Shadow Dragon. File:FEDS Swordmaster (M) Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the male Swordmaster class from Shin Monsho no Nazo. File:FE13 Swordmaster (M) Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the Swordmaster class from Awakening. File:FE14 Generic Swordmaster (M) Map Sprite.gif|Map sprite of the Swordmaster class from Fates.